


Back to work

by Beta_09



Category: Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi | Spirited Away
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Bath Houses, Bathing/Washing, F/M, Falling In Love, First Kiss, First Time, Gen, Priestesses, Priests, Relationship(s), Sacred Trees, Seasonal Spirits and Guardians, Spirit World, Spirits, Spiritual, Water Spirit, Winter Spirits
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:42:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28290342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beta_09/pseuds/Beta_09
Summary: Ten years past and the bath house walls were still as bright red as Chihiro remembered.But now it's intimidating size didn't scare her like it had all those years ago. On the contrary, she felt immediate relief as the sun set and the lights flicked on one by one behind the paper windows of it's numerous sliding doors.She could hear the ferry crossing the river in the distance as she saw shadows move behind paper and glass windows.Aburaya would soon open it's doors and it would be time to get back to work.
Relationships: Haku | Nigihayami Kohakunushi/Ogino Chihiro
Comments: 4
Kudos: 74





	1. Chapter 1

Ten years past and the bath house walls were still as bright red as Chihiro remembered.

But now it's intimidating size didn't scare her like it had all those years ago. On the contrary, she felt immediate relief as the sun set and the lights flicked on one by one behind the paper windows of it's numerous sliding doors. The golden decorations still did impress her and the green tiled roofs, after much deliberation, were still her favorite part of the structure. 

She could hear the ferry crossing the river in the distance as she saw shadows move behind paper and glass windows and smelled the smoke coming out of the long chimney leading to the boiler room. 

Aburaya would soon open it's doors and it would be time to get back to work. 

Chihiro looked at the wide bridge before her, it's red railings now came up to her waist instead of her neck.

A twinge of disappointment went through her as she didn't see a boy, who would either tell her to leave or welcome her back, standing on the bridge.  
The feeling soon disappeared when Chihiro told herself she would see him inside like the rest and without holding her breath she walked over the bridge. 

Instead of avoiding the main entrance and climbing the side of the building on some rickety stairs like she did long ago, Chihiro headed for the main entrance, taking of her comfortable sneakers and socks before going in, not bothering to take them with her.

She would get new clothing tonight anyway. 

It was busy in the halls of the enormous bath house. Hostesses and hosts were all running to and from the kitchen carrying trays with sake and breakfast for waking guests, toad faced cooks were banging pots and pans in the kitchen and cleaners were busy making sure the floors were spotless. A long line of rousry people was formed before the elevated desk of the foreman, all trying to get the best bath tokens before their customers would arrive. 

But this sea of busy employees parted for her as Chihiro made her way to the first of the many elevators in the building.  
A silence fell over the workers, they had all felt a strong presence heading towards their bath house paired with the foul stench of a human. 

It's not like it hadn't happened before, humans sometimes ended up here when they were lost, they all remembered a certain human girl that once crossed their bridge and was protected by their resident river spirit. 

But this human wasn't just any normal human, it had the noticeable presence of a priestess. Their type rarely stumbled into their world by accident, if at all, and most of them wouldn't venture to a place like Aburaya when they did decide to enter the world of kami.

So it was a first for the employees to have a priestess among them that seemed to harbor no ill will towards them. The employed spirits of the bath house were not considered to be the most evil of yokai, even if most were greedy and a little bit more than mischievous. Yet they could never be certain a priestess, and a human at that, wouldn't want to exorcise them with some Shinto ritual.

But than again, a priestess wouldn't come this deep into spirit territory to start vanquishing yokai and be killed by master Kohaku for even attempting to seal him away. No, that was not how a normal priestess would act, so it wasn't unexpected to see a familiar human cross the threshold of their workplace and walk around like they knew the place.

It was Sen, the clumsy girl that had earned them a fortune and had successfully bested Yubaaba at her own game.  
She was different now, older, but age doesn't tell a spirit much when the ends and beginnings of years aren't that noticeable to them.

But she was older, that they knew with the length she now reached, the longer hair, the perceptive eyes and persistent look in them. What was telling to the bath house employees was the longbow and quiver filled with iron tipped arrows strapped to her back. The same items had been carried by those with the sacred power for centuries and were used to channel that power. It seemed their small, kind human had gone through some changes.

Chihiro's steps echoed through the silent halls, only the sound of running water and splashing oil accompanied the paces she took towards the elevator. She glanced through the crowd briefly, hopeful to catch a glimpse of dark green hair that bordered on black and deep green eyes that were stern but would only look at her with a softness she'd never experience anywhere else.  
But alas, he wasn't there and Chihiro feared he might not be at Aburaya at all anymore. Still she persevered and reached the elevator, it would take her up to the second floor, then she would have to switch to a second elevator that would take her up to the top floor.

She pulled the lever and waited for the doors to open, all the while being stared and gawked at in silence. With, what seemed to be a loud, ding the doors opened and a group of hostesses came into view. They too stopped their gossiping behind opened fans and stared at her in disbelief as they slowly shuffled out of the small space and into the hallway.

Chihiro stayed right infront of the elevator doors, not moving an inch, causing the ladies to go around her. 

If she was going to stay here, she'd better show she was as unmoving and stubborn as she was when she was younger.

With all the hostesses out the way, Chihiro stepped into the elevator and pulled at the lever once again.  
A burst of cheers and hurried conversations could be heard from the other side of the door as they closed and Chihiro allowed herself to savor this moment of familiarity and sense of home as she touched the purple hair tie keeping her longer hair in a ponytail, after ten years it was still as brand new as the day it was made. 

The ding of the elevator told her she was at the second floor of the bath house, the doors opened and it seemed word had traveled fast as people were already waiting to see for themselves if she really was back. 

As Chihiro walked towards the second elevator she received welcome greetings and cheers but the familiar sound of someone calling out her name made her look back to see a young woman, appearing no older than Chihiro herself, in a pink uniform with a mock scowl on her face that soon gave way to a giant grin. 

"What took you so long Sen!" Lin said as a ways of saying hello. 

"Oh! Hey Lin." Chihiro smiled at Lin and the use of an old name, glad that the older girl had remembered her. They walked up to one another, Lin being quick to grab Chihiro into a quick hug, letting her go before rumor would spread she had gone soft now that her little sister was back. 

"You've grown quite a bit haven't you? But seriously, Sen, what took so long and what is with this get-up? You some kind of priest or something?" Lin looked dismayed at the bow on her back and Chihiro couldn't exactly blame her. 

But it was a long story, one Chihiro didn't have time for right now. How much she longed to just talk with her friend, Chihiro needed to deal with Yubaaba first. 

" I will tell you later. I need to go speak with Yubaaba."

Lin frowned, Chihiro thought she hadn't changed a bit.  
"What do you need to speak with Yubaaba about?" 

The look Chihiro shot Lin made the employee think the worst, it seemed her former co-worker was going to be working with her again soon. 

"Sen, you can't be serious!?" Lin gaped at her.

Chihiro looked away sheepishly, her hands fidgeting and a small embarrassed smile on her face.  
Lin began to berate her but unlike ten years ago, the human girl wasn't going to blindly follow Lin's every order and cut her off. 

" I want to stay and work."

The words every person working at Aburaya had once uttered to Yubaaba before she was obligated to give them a job position in the bath house. For alot of workers they were words they now regretted as they were most likely to be bound to this place forever, working here until the day their spirit would slowly start to fade out of existence.

Lin had almost gotten enough money to buy herself a train ticket and get away from this place but, this and that happened and now she was stuck at the bottom of the stairs again. Kamaji wasn't off any better, Lin knew, he had given his train tickets to Chihiro long ago and the old man had already given up on getting some again. He had told Lin that he had made peace with the deal he'd made with Yubaaba and but that Lin, while still young and persistent, should get out of here before this place started to feel too much like home.

But Lin never left, none of them ever truly left, not even Sen, a human, could escape the pull of the bath house.  
And by the look in her eyes and the way she set her jaw, Lin knew she wasn't going to give up. It seemed little, clumsy Sen was still much the same but now she was even braver than before and it did Lin good to see that.

So the only thing Lin could do was stare at Chihiro dumbfounded as she turned and walked to the elevator, snapping out of it just before the doors opened. 

"Don't make a deal you'll regret!" Lin called after her as the doors closed. 

"I won't, thank you!" Chihiro yelled back as the doors closed and she went up to meet Yubaaba.


	2. Chapter 2

Yubaaba's top floor was still as gaudy and extensively decorated as Chihiro remembered. The marble floors and steps, the giant painted vases, the pillars on each side of the room and the two massive red doors at the other end of the room seemed to scream at her with their bright colors and dizzying patterns. It was eerily silent, the cheers and talking downstairs wasn't audible like Chihiro thought it might be. 

On instinct, she reached for her bow but stopped herself, Chihiro was in the lion's den right now, angering Yubaaba in her own home would surely get her killed.

So, suppressing the urge to turn around and walk away, Chihiro shook her head and muttered for her legs to keep moving towards the door on the right. 

It still had that ugly golden knocker in the shape of a face hanging from it's red surface but unlike last time, the face opened it's eyes and inspected Chihiro with silent judgement.

"Proceed." the golden face said with it's croaking voice. 

The red door opened to reveal another, even more extravagant room, doors placed across from where Chihiro stood. Those doors too, opened to reveal another room that was right out of a fairytale, the doors of that room also opened and in the same manner a countless amount of rooms, each one more elaborately decorated than the last, opened it's doors so Chihiro could walk through them. It seemed Yubaaba had added some rooms Chihiro noted, as she didn't think there were this much ten years ago.

This time an invisible force didn't pull at her, making her fly through the rooms, Chihiro stayed right in her place. She looked to her left, at the other red door, she never did get to see what was behind it, she made a note to find out one day. 

Taking a deep breath and reciting a small prayer, Chihiro walked through the rooms build for kings and queens. The doors of the rooms falling closed behind her with deafening bangs, with each one Chihiro could feel Yubaaba's presence begin to set in.

At the end of the last room, a door on the side of the room opened revealing a dimly lit hallway with more giant porcelain vases and a thickly carpeted floor. Her bare feet made no noise as she walked through the hallway, her hands itching to reach for her bow and arrow. She turned a corner and an even more dimly lit hallway greeted her but she could hear the crackling of a fire and the scritching sound of a pen writing on parchment in the distance. 

Her heart began to beat louder and Chihiro had to take another deep breath before proceeding to Yubaaba's office. It was in the same style as the hallway, a large hearth with a fire crackling in it and two comfortable chairs facing it was one of two light sources in the room. The other light came from an elegant table light, the lamp shade was made of stained glass, making the light cast a rainbow of colors on the surface of the desk.

Chihiro wondered how Yubaaba could write her documents with such a light, maybe the glasses she now wore helped. They made her look like her sister but the look she threw Chihiro as the young woman stepped closer to the desk made it clear that it was the evil twin Chihiro was now dealing with.

Casting her eyes back on her work and dipping her pen in her ink, Yubaaba said. 

"To what do I owe the displeasure of seeing your pathetic human face again."

It wasn't a question, rather it was a threat of sorts.  
Chihiro needed to choose her next words carefully, she needed to make a deal that was different from ten years ago, one like Haku had made with Yubaaba.  
Chihiro had thought about her next words for a long time, she had carefully picked them, she had written them out and thought about every loophole Yubaaba might try to use against her. 

"I want to offer Aburaya and the employees my services in return for payment."

Her voice was less resolute than Chihiro would have hoped but her words were interesting enough for Yubaaba to stop writing, look up at Chihiro and start laughing at her.  
Chihiro would have rather wanted the old woman to get angry and start to threaten her like she did the first time, this just felt a bit humiliating. 

Yubaaba took off her glasses putting them on the side of her desk, leaned back in her chair, taking a sigar out of a desk drawer, clipped the top off with a snap of her finger and with another snap lighted it.  
Taking a deep breath of smoke and breathing out through her disproportionate nose, she kept on cackling to herself.  
With those big eyes of hers she kept on looking at Chihiro as easy prey, the young woman thought she might actually have a chance to pull this of if Yubaaba kept on thinking about her like that too. 

"Now why would I do that?" The old woman asked as she took another breath of smoke, snickering between breaths

Chihiro could never stand the smell of sigaret smoke and the smell of Yubaaba's sigar made her almost get an instant headache but she didn't think about it as the smoke curled around her. 

"Because you need to give a job to anyone who asks for it." Chihiro said, chanting in her head that she could do this.

Yubaaba's small laughs stopped, all humor gone from her face, taking an even deeper breath filled with smoke. "You think I don't know that, you stupid girl."

More smoke filled the room, the sigar was completely burned out, Yubaaba burned her fingers knowingly and tossed the bud in the filled ashtray on her desk without ever averting her gaze from Chihiro. 

"But you are asking something different, human. You are not asking to work for me." Yubaaba's voice was stern and her words were degrading but the look on her face told Chihiro she was interested. 

Chihiro just needs to hold her attention like this, than she will succeed. "You need to give work to everyone who asks for it. I do not need to work for you, I just need work."

Yubaaba's anger was instantaneous, catapulting out of her seat and slamming her hands down on her desk. "You miserable piece of human filth, you think you ca-"

Chihiro cut her off, it was reckless to do so, Boh's outburst wouldn't save her now but she needed to be stubborn to succeed. "I want to offer Aburaya and the employees my services in return for payment."

Whisps of hair wriggled free from Yubaaba's updo, she seething but held herself back by a thin thread. "There are no jobs left so if you think I will take on some stinking priestess to-"

It was Chihiro's turn to slam her hands down on the desk, her eyes persistent and maybe a little desperate at the edges. "I want to offer Aburaya and the employees my services in return for payment."

Yubaaba calmed, as they stared directly into each other's eyes. The human girl had remained the same as ten years ago in Yubaaba's eyes, they were still naive, stupid and egotistical. But she was also hardworking, stubborn and sickingly empathetic. 

"If you send me away I'll wonder if you will break your promise then?" Chihiro continued. 

But humans could lie, a thing spirit couldn't do outright. It could be beneficial to have that but it could also work against her. The girl was now a priestess, and a powerful one at that, the prospect of having a priestess work for her was enticing. She would finally be feared by those greater spirits that were always a pest to deal with. She could send the girl on errands to territories where sending any kind of spirit would mean a declaration of war to it's inhabitants.  
But if Yubaaba agreed than the girl would not work for her, just like Yubaaba was working for Aburaya the girl would also work for the bathhouse, the girl could turn on her at anytime. 

"Do you know what happens to spirits who break their promise?" Chihiro said carefully as Yubaaba kept silent. 

Of course Yubaaba knew, she had seen the ramifications of breaking a contract up close. Yubaaba had hired enough employees and had set up enough contracts to have tested the limits of her own promise to take on anyone that asks for a job. 

And no matter how much she didn't want to admit it, the girl was right

"I do, I have seen what becomes of them, they-"

Yubaaba had had enough of the girls rambling, this human could not possibly know what atrocities Yubaaba herself had seen in her many centuries of existence.

"Yes, I know what happens, keep it to yourself, girl. It's bad luck to talk about it." Yubaaba said as she sat back down in her chair, putting her hair back into place and directing the papers, ink and pens back to their rightfull place with her index finger.

Chihiro took a step back from Yubaaba's desk, her arms crossed behind her back, something in the look on Yubaaba's face told Chihiro that she had the old witch in her pocket. 

It was quiet for a long moment in which Yubaaba observed Chihiro once more. She was still debating whether or not she would give her a job and Chihiro realized that if Yubaaba, being the confidant business lady that she was, hadn't made up her mind to refuse her at this point than it was becoming more likely by the second that Yubaaba would hire Chihiro. 

"And what if I do take you on? What could a miserable existence like you possibly offer me?" Yubaaba said as she weaved her fingers together and leaned back in her chair once again.  
Chihiro needed to hold back a smile of triumph, letting through only a lifting of the corners of her mouth. 

"If we draft up a contract I can show you." Chihiro said as she let out a soft breath of relief when Yubaaba snapped her fingers and a pen and paper floated in front of her. 

Only in the back of her mind did a spark of regret pass, as she hadn't seen a certain boy and feared he might have kept his promise of seeing her again in the human world.


	3. Chapter 3

It took most of that night to figure out an agreeable contract, Yubaaba had driven a hard bargain but Chihiro had taken her stand and wasn't going to budge.

When Yubaaba made the tenth and final draft of the contract, from somewhere far away three booming knocks could be heard echoing through the empty rooms and hallways.

Chihiro turned her head to the sound as Yubaaba looked up only for a second before recognizing the presence that stood before her door, the old woman couldn't help a grin forming on her face.

"Took you long enough to return and just in time." she waved her hand through the air and Chihiro could hear the sound of locked doors opening up and footsteps drawing closer to Yubaaba's office. 

With each footstep she wondered what he would look like, how much he had changed, why he had stayed here.  
Because it was him, she couldn't be wrong in believing it was him.

Now Kohaku always prided himself with being in controle of his emotions. It made him a hassle to deal with for other spirits as they were never able to rile him up enough for him to make a wrong move and have ample cause to strike him down.

None could shake him, no one could throw him off, he was master Haku of Aburaya, the great Kohaku river spirit. None would dare get close, none except one. 

The girl was young when she fell in his waters, it happened sometimes that a human fell in, Kohaku always made sure to help the human out, it he was going to let them drown, their deceased soul would leave a nasty mark in his beautiful stream of blues and greens.  
Yet the memory of the girl with her lost shoe stayed with him, as if he knew she would be the one to save him from Yubaaba by making him remember his true name.

True love, Kamaji had called it once. Kohaku had dismissed his words, Chihiro was back in the human world now, where she belonged, she hadn't looked back. The boilerman sharply slapped the back of his head, chiding that Kohaku did not see how she had tried to save him from the curse on Zeniba's golden seal or the bug that had kept Kohaku under Yubaaba's control at the risk of her very life. 

Kohaku let the boilerman take his liberties in chiding him and putting Kohaku in his place, Lin was the only other employee he allowed to speak to him like that. They were the only ones not cowardly enough to address him by his name only, the title of master was only used for him by the other employees. Yubaaba never used his title but not because she was scared of him, she was just too spiteful to even have respect for him or anyone for that matter. 

He sometimes asked himself why he still worked for her but he was always quick to remind himself that with his river now gone he needed a new place to tie himself to. And places like Aburaya were rare and it wasn't like there was just some unoccupied river in the human world that he could just make his own, trust him he had looked. 

For ten human years in fact, he had looked far and wide in the few times he needed to go on errands to the land of the rising sun. But it seemed that rivers had become fewer and had been replaced by cities and towns, by dams and reservoirs.  
Only rivers high up in the mountains were still truly untouched but the spirits that dwelled there were much too powerful for Kohaku to deal with, even if he himself possessed a great deal of power. 

But every time, as if it had become a reflex, Kohaku entered the human world he would keep an eye out for an unoccupied river or the sight of a human girl, he guessed was now a woman, with deep brown hair and a shining purple hairtie, who was the one thing in Kohaku's existence that made him feel more than just a spirit, that made him feel seen in a world of mortals that couldn't. 

Maybe that was why he always wore his human form, why he consciously tried to remember her age and matched himself to appear just as old. Maybe he still hoped that she would return to him someday and would see his now longer hair and taller stature and be reminded of the boy she knew. 

Thoughts of her came to him in the days he spent sleeping at Aburaya, he would close his eyes and see her smiling face and wish she would direct her smile at him for just a moment longer, that was the only thing he could wish for but than he would awake and she would not be there and he would get up, go do his job, return and sleep in hopes to dream of her again. 

That was the routine he had hoped to follow this night too but it seemed today had other plans for him. 

The was a strange scent and presence hanging around Aburaya as Kohaku came back from his latest job of getting some rare herbs for Kamaji.  
He entered the building through the servant entrance and was met by employees rapidly discussing about something that was going on.  
A large group of cleaners that had the night off were gathered in the mainhall of the servant quarters, Kohaku could see Lin standing in the middle of the group, nodding and listening to others talking about something Kohaku apparently had no knowledge of. 

It ticked him off, he should know what was going on in this place and the fact that he didn't only made him irritated. With strong steps he walked down the stairs from the corridor above where he had observed them, once almost down the last few steps he yelled. 

"What are you all standing around for here? If you want to have a meeting have one in your sleeping quarters, not in the middel of the hallway."

Immediately the crowd turned to him, the looks in their eyes were unnerving him, something strange was going on.  
Lin stepped forward quickly, pushing past others so she could be the first to tell him. 

"It's Se-"

"Master Kohaku! It would be best to report to Yubaaba now that you have returned." The foreman called over Lin as Kohaku turned to the short man.  
A moment of silence passed, as none dared speak when master Kohaku had received an order while clearly being in a bad mood. 

Kohaku turned back to the group and Lin, his long hair swishing in his ponytail, missing the way the foreman grinned mischievously.

"Once I get back, I want you to see this place empty." Kohaku turned to Lin specifically. "And I expect some kind of explanation for this kind of behavior from you when I come back."

He could hear Lin huff in exasperation and curse him under her breath, which he didn't really understand seeing as she was among the people causing a ruckus and giving him a headache. He dismissed her attitude as he went to an elevator that took him up to the second floor. 

Up on the second floor, people got out of his way as they could almost see his bad mood dancing around his head. 

It was only as he waited for another elevator to arrive that Kohaku actually listened to the whispering going on around him, a group of hostesses nearby and two hosts were discussing the topic that was keeping all of Aburaya talking. 

"-human won't stand a chance."

"Apparently they have become a priestess-"

"They say she slayed one of the thunderbeast of the northern mountains."

Kohaku would have laughed at their words if not for his ability to conceal his emotions and need to keep up his reputation. 

A priestess coming here, in the heart of spirit-kind, to do what? 

Be killed by Yubaaba? Made into a slave of the bath house? No, humans weren't like that.  
Yet Kohaku hesitated in that thought. The bath house had smelled off and a strange atmosphere had settled within it's walls. Something was strange about this and Kohaku didn't like it one bit that he couldn't name what it was.

The elevator doors opened and Kohaku stepped in the empty space, still half listening to the whispers of the workers and feeling his heart beat still at just one name.

"Sen-" 

The elevator doors closed and Kohaku was on his way to Yubaaba. He almost reached out his hand to stop the doors from closing, slowing his movement as the doors had already slammed closed but his hand still reached out for something. 

He was reaching out for her name, for any kind of connection to her. 

Sen. 

Chihiro. 

He stopped himself, letting his arm drop to his side.  
No, no. This was just like those dreams he had about her, they were not real, only illusions that would disappear when he awoke, distractions he thought up himself to make him feel better about not being able to find her in her world and find a way to be with her. 

Yes, he had just misheard, he was just overreacting, even at the sound of her name.  
A hand came to his head, a headache was setting in, it usually when he felt frustrated, angry or sad. 

The elevator arrived at the top floor, the doors opened and out stepped the composed servant he always pretended to be. 

It was better to put those thoughts away when he would be dealing with Yubaaba, he could fall apart after. 

Arriving at the red door leading to Yubaaba's rooms and knocked thrice on the door, each knock echoing through the heavily decorated room.

It stayed silent for a moment before the knocker sprang to life. 

"Took you long enough and just in time." the knocker screeched at Kohaku, his headache returned with a vengeance. 

The door opened and Kohaku started making his way through every gilded room and past every brightly colored door that hurt his eyes just by looking at it. 

It was in the dimly lit hallway that he composed his inner being again, now noticing something strange. The scent and presence that had been claiming Aburaya the whole night, that Kohaku thought would disappear once he was on Yubaaba's floor, had only gotten stronger. 

Now the golden knockers mocking words took on more of a foreboding tone as Kohaku slowed himself as he turned the corner and crossed the short distance to Yubaaba's threshold. 

He was greeted by the sight of brown eyes as rich and as deep as the earth once he stepped into Yubaaba's office.  
His mind went blank, Kohaku could not seen anything but those brown eyes. He could not hear anything but the way her breath caught in her throat as she saw him. He could not feel anything but the pounding of his heart and her arms around him, keeping him close, closer than he thought he would ever be to her again. 

This was no dream.


	4. Chapter 4

For a moment it was heaven as Haku slipped his arms around her and kept her tighter then she ever thought possible, the sent of fresh linnen and chamomile surrounded her.

It was him. 

Kohaku.

She didn't know tears were rolling down her face but as she pulled away the dark spots on the shoulder of Haku's uniform made it clear she was. 

Ten years, they both had waited for this.

A bit embarrassed she wiped away her tears and took a good look at him. He was taller now, just as tall as her, his hair was longer like she always imagined it would be but his eyes were still the same, still his eyes.  
Eyes that looked at her with a kindness rarely given to others.

"I kept your promise." she whispered softly without thinking.

His eyes, although Chihiro thought it to be impossible, softened even further at her words. 

"You did." His voice was lower now, it sounded clear like bells and running water, it made her blush to have his gaze on her and his face so close as he smiled at her brightly.

That smile however, was soon to disappear as he glanced over her shoulder to Yubaaba, seeing the contract on her desk. He looked back at Chihiro who could have guessed what he was about to ask her before Yubaaba beat him to it and spoke. 

"So girl, do we have a deal or not?" she asked with a vengeful smile as Kohaku's face darkened at her words. Chihiro turned to Yubaaba, the girl had already decided and Yubaaba couldn't wait to pay Kohaku back for all the trouble the boy had ever caused her.

"Chihiro, don't do this-" Kohaku tried to plead with her, a hand on her shoulder, his gaze boring into the back of her head.  
Chihiro had dreamed of him calling out her name but not like this, not with that kind of desperation and worry. She stilled herself, taking a deep breath through her nose and turned to face her old friend once more. 

"I want this, you can trust me." She had a bright smile on her face, one he'd missed, her eyes shining with determination and Kohaku, even if that look of hers was a distant memory, knew that he could not stop her.

Still, the river spirit took hold of her hand squeezing it, afraid she would be ripped away from him when she turned to Yubaaba. 

"I'll sign the contract." Chihiro spoke bravely. 

Yubaaba smiled at the girl like a cat smiled at their prey once they knew the cat was most certainly going to kill them. She took the stack of papers, letting it drift out of her hand and into Chihiro's she let go of Kohaku to take them out of the air, a fountain pen followed soon after for Chihiro to take. 

It took a long time for Chihiro to write her signature and initials on every paper while scanning the document once again for any loopholes that weren't in her favor or conditions Yubaaba might have secretly added. 

Kohaku, meanwhile, alternated between looking at the document in Chihiro's hands and throwing Yubaaba some dirty looks as the old woman already celebrated her new employee with another sigar.  
Kohaku had to admit, Chihiro had made favorable conditions for herself with this deal, much like the deal he struck with Yubaaba after realizing his true name thanks to his old friend. But don't get him wrong, he was opposed to her even thinking about signing a contract with Yubaaba but he could not stop her, he didn't feel he had the right to, she had changed too much for him to stop her.

It seemed Chihiro had become much more thoughtful and perceptive now that she was older. 

Kohaku realized that she had changed much more than he would have liked to admit. Her hair was longer, her bangs almost fell in front of her eyes, those bright brown eyes that were still as deep and vibrant as he remembered. She still wore the purple hair tie that Boh and Yu-bird had made for her, it still shone with a magical light.

But something Kohaku had not recognized on her person and something he was even slightly scared by, was the bow and quiver filled with iron or silver tipped arrows that she wore. 

The aura befitting of a priestess surrounded his old friend and Kohaku was weary. Of course he trusted Chihiro, even after ten years of separation, to not use her new powers against him or any other innocent person, but that didn't mean accidents could not happen. 

It did not mean that an almost reflexive, primal, distrust overcame him when he gazed upon her accessories.

Chihiro hesitated when she wrote the last character of her name on paper. Ten years of training had lead to this, years of trying to remember memories that had seemed like a dream but the feeling of the pen in her hand and her feet on the thick carpet told her it was real. With a sudden bout of realization, Chihiro became aware of every little detail in this moment.  
The crispness of the parchment, the smell of Yubaaba's sigar, the sound of the crackling fireplace and her own steady breathing, the movement of the smallest bones in her hand as she wrote the last part of her name, ending the moment. 

The contract and pen were yanked out of her hands by Yubaaba's magic, the old woman took a good look at the papers through her glasses to see if the girl might have missed something.  
A gargantuan smile broke her wrinkled face, Yubaaba leaned back in her seat again, her hand tracing the characters of Chihiro's name, wondering what to change about them this time. The witch thought a moment and then smiled even brighter as she looked at Chihiro.

"Now, I have to pick a name for you, but I seem to draw a blank. So, I what do you want to be called? Chihiro? Sen? Or something else entirely?" 

Chihiro blinked at Yubaaba, she didn't expect the old lady to let her pick her own name, it was....unnerving.  
Thinking hard, Chihiro turned her head to Kohaku, trying to read his face and see if her had a preference. She found out that his face once again had gone back to the mask of an obedient servant, so reading his face in anyway was not possible in that state.  
Sen would be a logical choice, as Yubaaba had named her that before but now it wasn't just for a short amount of time that it was to be her name. They were talking about the rest of Chihiro's life here and if Chihiro was being honest, she would rather live the rest of her days by a name that was close to her heart, the name that been spoken by the ones she loved, a name that to her would always mean that she never forget who she is and the people around her are. 

"I would like to be called Chihiro from now on, whatever other name you give me is up to you." Chihiro bowed to Yubaaba. "I am in your care from now on."

Yubaaba snorted at the sight of her politeness. 

"I see, than from now on you will be known to the employees as Sen, to yourself and those you choose you will stay Chihiro." Yubaaba changed her mind for a second and added.  
"And to me you will be known as Miko, seeing as you are a priestess."

She glanced back at the girl with her spirit boyfriend by her side, she almost gagged at how protective her former apprentice was of the human girl, she could practically see his horns sprouting from the head of his human form.  
Now that the deal was done she was tired and in no need of Haku's glaring looks.

"Kohaku, show the girl to her room and make sure she gets the appropriate clothes." 

Kohaku bowed obediently and silently.  
Yubaaba looked to Chihiro one last time, that unnerving smile still on her face. "Tomorrow I want you to show me what you can do, priestess."

Chihiro bowed at her boss as Kohaku motioned for Chihiro to follow him. 

The walk through Yubaaba's rooms were silent and Chihiro found that she was reminded of the past in which he seemed like two different people to her. 

They entered into the elevator that was already waiting for them, it was only when Kohaku had pulled the lever and they were well on their way down that he calmly asked.

"Did you really have to do that?"

She had focused her gaze on her big toe so as to not think of the silence, his voice had her looking at him what a sudden embarrassment and a bit tongue tied. 

"I- I made the decision to come back long ago, this is the only way I thought I could."

Kohaku tensed his shoulders and clenched his jaw as he whipped his head around to her, his ponytail swishing to the side.

"Working for Yubaaba is not going to guarantee you any freedom."

If Chihiro didn't know any better she thought that Kohaku sounded mad, maybe more annoyed. It was a first to have his negative words directed at her, it gave Chihiro an uncomfortable, heavy, feeling in her chest. 

Chihiro looked down at her feet again, a regretful smile on her face. "Well than it's a good thing I am not technically going to work for her."

If it were up to Kohaku, she would have never even set foot in the spirit world. If he were honest, Kohaku wanted nothing more than to pick her up and fly her out of here, send her back to the human world and tell her to not look back.  
But Kohaku knew that the damage had been done, he had seen the contract, she had made a favorable deal, more favorable that most employees had, he still wondered how she had gotten Yubaaba to even consider taking her on. 

He sighed and turned back, trying to lighten the mood a bit more, as he noticed his words had affected her. The way she even smiled at his harsh way of speaking, it did pain him but there was a part of him that was kind of touched by the way his words could affect her like this.

"You actually pulled that off?" he asked softly as his hand brushed hers.

"I learned from the best." she answered as she linked their pinky fingers.


End file.
